Original versus Parody I

At the Leipzig Bachfest you will be performing Pergolesi’s »Stabat Mater« together with Bach’s arrangement. But first, about the original: what is so fascinating about Pergolesi’s »Stabat Mater«, which was so hugely popular throughout Europe in the 18th century?

In human history you sometimes come across phenomenal successes for which there seems no adequate explanation. Pergolesi died very young, at the age of just 26, and was recognised even during his lifetime as a talented artist. But he left only about 20 works, ranging from church music to opera, written between 1729 and 1735. Pergolesi’s popularity during his lifetime, combined with the consternation at his illness and death and the general enthusiasm for the Neapolitan School probably had the effect, in a kind of pre-Romantic élan, that in a rush to take commercial advantage many works came into circulation that were falsely attributed to him. That made him even more famous.

What changes did Johann Sebastian Bach make in his arrangement, »Tilge, Höchster, meine Sünden«?

The hand of the great Johann Sebastian Bach was also a lucky stroke for Pergolesi and his breathtaking »Stabat Mater«. Bach decided to use the musical material for a cantata, completing and enriching the harmonic texture on the one hand with a magnificent and completely independent viola line, and then with a choir, to raise the souls of the listeners by closing with a reprise in a major key.

Can you say whether you prefer one version to the other, or are the two versions equal?

A direct juxtaposition of Pergolesi’s »Stabat Mater« and the Bach cantata »Tilge, Höchster, meine Sünden« is a challenge for every interpreter – and for the audience too, especially! We strive to show the two works – which I love equally – in a different light. It would be really banal to assert that we’re juxtaposing a »Catholic« version with a »Protestant« one. A more plausible formulation would be that here, »opera composer« meets »theologian«.